Dynamic presentation of contextual business component data

ABSTRACT

Various arrangements for organizing business components for use in creating a business object are presented. A selection of a business context may be received from a plurality of business contexts. After receiving the selection of the business context, for each business component of the plurality of business components, whether the business component is within the received business context or outside of the received business context may be determined. An indicator may be assigned to each business component of the plurality of business components based on the business component being determined as being within the received business context or outside of the received business context. Each business component of the plurality of business components with the business component&#39;s assigned indicator may be presented.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Business objects are a data model that allow data to be exchangedeffectively and efficiently between applications. Business objects, alsoreferred to as enterprise business objects (EBOs), may be exchangedbetween various applications and can serve to facilitate process flowsthat involve multiple different applications. In creating a businessobject, a developer may structure the business object in accordance withthe type of business of the developer's enterprise and/or theenterprise's geographic region, to name only two examples. Typically, adeveloper may have limited tools available for determining theapplicability of particular subelements available to the developer toconstruct the business object.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Various arrangements for organizing business components for use increating a business object are presented. In some embodiments, a methodfor organizing business components for use in creating a business objectis presented. The method may include receiving, by a computer system, aselection of a business context from a plurality of business contexts.The method may include, after receiving the selection of the businesscontext, determining, by the computer system, for each businesscomponent of a plurality of business components, whether the businesscomponent is within the received business context or outside of thereceived business context. Each business component of the plurality ofbusiness components may include a category, and an association with abusiness context from the plurality of business contexts. The method mayinclude assigning, by the computer system, an indicator to each businesscomponent of the plurality of business components based on the businesscomponent being determined as being within the received business contextor outside of the received business context. The method may includepresenting, by the computer system, each business component of theplurality of business components with the business component's assignedindicator. At least business components within the received businesscontext may be available for use in creating the business object.

Embodiments of such a method may include one or more of the following:The business context may indicate a specific industry or geographiclocation. The plurality of business contexts may be organized as ahierarchy, such that at least one business context has at least onechild business context. The method may include, for each businesscomponent of the plurality of business components that is determined tobe within the received business context, determining if the businesscomponent has an ancestor business component in the hierarchy. Themethod may include, for each business component of the plurality ofbusiness components that is determined to be outside the receivedbusiness context, determining if the business component has an ancestorbusiness component in the hierarchy. Assigning the indicator to eachbusiness component of the plurality of business components may include:assigning, by the computer system, a first type of indicator to businesscomponents of the plurality of business components that are within thereceived business context and do not have an ancestor business componentin the hierarchy; assigning, by the computer system, a second type ofindicator to business components of the plurality of business componentsthat are within the received business context and have an ancestorbusiness component in the hierarchy; assigning, by the computer system,a third type of indicator to business components of the plurality ofbusiness components that are outside the received business context anddo not have an ancestor business component in the hierarchy; and/orassigning, by the computer system, a fourth type of indicator tobusiness components of the plurality of business components that areoutside the received business context and have an ancestor businesscomponent in the hierarchy.

Embodiments of such a method may additionally or alternatively includeone or more of the following: Presenting each business component of theplurality of business components with the business component's assignedindicator may include presenting each business component of theplurality of business components with either the assigned first type ofindicator, the assigned second type of indicator, the assigned thirdtype of indicator, or the assigned fourth type of indicator. The methodmay include, after presenting each business component of the pluralityof business components with the business component's assigned indicator,receiving, by the computer system, a second selection of a secondbusiness context from the plurality of business contexts. The method mayinclude after receiving the selection of the business context,determining, by the computer system, for each business component of theplurality of business components, whether the business component iswithin the received business context or outside of the second receivedbusiness context. The method may include assigning, by the computersystem, a modified indicator to each business component of the pluralityof business components based on the business component being determinedas being within the second received business context or outside of thesecond received business context. The method may include presenting, bythe computer system, each business component of the plurality ofbusiness components with the business component's assigned modifiedindicator. The method may include receiving, by the computer system, aselection of a business component that is within the received businesscontext for use in creating the business object. Each indicator may be agraphical element displayed within a user interface.

In some embodiments, a computer program product residing on anon-transitory processor-readable medium for organizing businesscomponents for use in creating a business object is presented. Thecomputer program product may include processor-readable instructionsconfigured to cause a computer system to receive a selection of abusiness context from a plurality of business contexts. The computerprogram product may include processor-readable instructions configuredto cause the computer system to, after receiving the selection of thebusiness context, determine, for each business component of a pluralityof business components, whether the business component is within thereceived business context or outside of the received business context.Each business component of the plurality of business components mayinclude a category and an association with a business context from theplurality of business contexts. The computer program product may includeprocessor-readable instructions configured to cause the computer systemto assign an indicator to each business component of the plurality ofbusiness components based on the business component being determined asbeing within the received business context or outside of the receivedbusiness context. The computer program product may includeprocessor-readable instructions configured to cause the computer systemto cause each business component of the plurality of business componentswith the business component's assigned indicator to be presented. Atleast business components within the received business context may beavailable for use in creating the business object.

Embodiments of such a computer program product may include one or moreof the following: The business context may indicate a specific industryor geographic location. The plurality of business contexts may beorganized as a hierarchy, such that at least one business context has atleast one child business context. The computer program product mayfurther include processor-readable instructions configured to cause thecomputer system to, for each business component of the plurality ofbusiness components that is determined to be within the receivedbusiness context, determine if the business component has an ancestorbusiness component in the hierarchy. The computer program product mayfurther include processor-readable instructions configured to cause thecomputer system to, for each business component of the plurality ofbusiness components that is determined to be outside the receivedbusiness context, determine if the business component has an ancestorbusiness component in the hierarchy. The processor-readable instructionsconfigured to cause the computer system to assign the indicator to eachbusiness component of the plurality of business components may includeprocessor-readable instructions configured to cause the computer systemto: assign a first type of indicator to business components of theplurality of business components that are within the received businesscontext and do not have an ancestor business component in the hierarchy;assign a second type of indicator to business components of theplurality of business components that are within the received businesscontext and have an ancestor business component in the hierarchy; assigna third type of indicator to business components of the plurality ofbusiness components that are outside the received business context anddo not have an ancestor business component in the hierarchy; and/orassign a fourth type of indicator to business components of theplurality of business components that are outside the received businesscontext and have an ancestor business component in the hierarchy.

Embodiments of such a computer program product may additionally oralternatively include one or more of the following: Theprocessor-readable instructions configured to cause the computer systemto present each business component of the plurality of businesscomponents with the business component's assigned indicator may includeprocessor-readable instructions configured to cause the computer systemto cause each business component of the plurality of business componentsto be presented with either the assigned first type of indicator, theassigned second type of indicator, the assigned third type of indicator,or the assigned fourth type of indicator. The computer program productmay further include processor-readable instructions configured to causethe computer system to after causing each business component of theplurality of business components with the business component's assignedindicator to be presented, receive a second selection of a secondbusiness context from the plurality of business contexts. The computerprogram product further comprises processor-readable instructionsconfigured to cause the computer system to, after receiving theselection of the business context, determine for each business componentof the plurality of business components, whether the business componentis within the received business context or outside of the secondreceived business context. The computer program product furthercomprises processor-readable instructions configured to cause thecomputer system to assign a modified indicator to each businesscomponent of the plurality of business components based on the businesscomponent being determined as being within the second received businesscontext or outside of the second received business context. The computerprogram product further comprises processor-readable instructionsconfigured to cause the computer system to cause each business componentof the plurality of business components with the business component'sassigned modified indicator to be presented. The computer programproduct may further include processor-readable instructions configuredto cause the computer system to receive a selection of a businesscomponent that is within the received business context for use increating the business object. Each indicator may be a graphical elementdisplayed within a user interface.

In some embodiments, a system for organizing business components for usein creating a business object is presented. The system may include aprocessor. The system may include a memory communicatively coupled withand readable by the processor and having stored thereinprocessor-readable instructions. When the processor-readableinstructions are executed by the processor, the processor-readableinstructions may cause the processor to receive a selection of abusiness context from a plurality of business contexts. Theprocessor-readable instructions may cause the processor to, afterreceiving the selection of the business context, determine, for eachbusiness component of a plurality of business components, whether thebusiness component is within the received business context or outside ofthe received business context. Each business component of the pluralityof business components may include a category and an association with abusiness context from the plurality of business contexts. Theprocessor-readable instructions may cause the processor to assign anindicator to each business component of the plurality of businesscomponents based on the business component being determined as beingwithin the received business context or outside of the received businesscontext. The processor-readable instructions may cause the processor tocause each business component of the plurality of business componentswith the business component's assigned indicator to be presented. Atleast business components within the received business context may beavailable for use in creating the business object. Theprocessor-readable instructions may further include processor-readableinstructions configured to cause the processor to: after causing eachbusiness component of the plurality of business components with thebusiness component's assigned indicator to be presented, receive asecond selection of a second business context from the plurality ofbusiness contexts; after receiving the selection of the businesscontext, determine for each business component of the plurality ofbusiness components, whether the business component is within thereceived business context or outside of the second received businesscontext; assign a modified indicator to each business component of theplurality of business components based on the business component beingdetermined as being within the second received business context oroutside of the second received business context; and cause each businesscomponent of the plurality of business components with the businesscomponent's assigned modified indicator to be presented.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A further understanding of the nature and advantages of variousembodiments may be realized by reference to the following figures. Inthe appended figures, similar components or features may have the samereference label. Further, various components of the same type may bedistinguished by following the reference label by a dash and a secondlabel that distinguishes among the similar components. If only the firstreference label is used in the specification, the description isapplicable to any one of the similar components having the same firstreference label irrespective of the second reference label.

FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of a system for organizing businesscomponents for use in creating a business object.

FIG. 2 illustrates a graphical representation of an embodiment of ahierarchy of business components according to business context.

FIG. 3 illustrates an embodiment of a graphical user interface thatorganizes business components for use in creating a business object.

FIG. 4 illustrates another embodiment of a graphical user interface thatorganizes business components for use in creating a business object witha different business context selected.

FIG. 5 illustrates another embodiment of a graphical user interface thatorganizes business components for use in creating a business object witha third business context selected.

FIG. 6 illustrates an embodiment of a method for organizing businesscomponents for use in creating a business object.

FIG. 7 illustrates another embodiment of a method for organizingbusiness components for use in creating a business object.

FIG. 8 illustrates an embodiment of a computer system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

A developer may use various business components to create and structurea business object. Each business component may be predefined for a typeof data and a category of data. Depending on factors such as anenterprise's type of business and the enterprise's geographic location,different business components may be used to create business objects. Asa simplified example, a business component may be for a mailing code.For enterprises within the United States, this mailing code businesscomponent may correspond to a zip code and may be required to be aparticular length of digits, such as 5 or 9 digits. However, in adifferent geographic region, the business component corresponding to amailing code may correspond to a 5, 6, or 7 character mix of letters andnumbers. When creating a business object, the developer may desire touse the mailing code business component relevant for the enterprise'sgeographic region. As such, the developer may benefit from a graphicaluser interface that distinguishes business components that areconsidered within the context of the enterprise from business componentsthat are considered outside the context of the enterprise.

A “business object” refers to a data model that is constructed ofbusiness components. A business object may be used for exchanging databetween different computerized applications or other data sources anddata sinks. Business objects may be application agnostic, meaning thedata within the business object is based on categories of data that areused across multiple applications. An application may create a businessobject, as defined by a developer, which is then output to anotherapplication. This second application can then use the business objectand the business components that are part of the business object toperform a process involving the business object or components of thebusiness object.

A “business component” refers to a data element that may have a type ofdata and/or a category of data. Business components may be used toconstruct business objects. An example of a business component may be anaddress business component. The category of this business component maybe “address” and the data type may be string. An example of a businessobject may be a sales order that includes multiple organized businesscomponents, such as an address business component, a postal codebusiness component, a name business component, etc.

A “business context” refers to the conditions surrounding an enterprise.The business context for an enterprise may refer to the business area ofthe enterprise. For example, a business area may be insurance orcommunications. The business context may also refer to the geographicalregion where an enterprise is based and/or operates. For example, ageographical region business context may be the United States. Otherforms of business context are also possible.

When creating or modifying a business object, the developer may usevarious business components in constructing the business object. Basedon a business context of the enterprise for which the developer iscreating the business object, the developer may use a particular subsetof the available business components. How business components arepresented to the developer may vary according to business context. Basedon the developer's selection of a business context, an indication ofwhether a business component is available for use by the developer or isnot available for use by the developer may be presented. Such anindication may be a non-textual graphical element (e.g., an icon). Assuch, at a glance, based on the developer's selection of a businesscontext, the developer can ascertain which of the business componentsare available to the developer for use in creating or modifying abusiness object.

Business contexts may be arranged in a hierarchy such that based on abusiness context's position within the hierarchy, the availability of abusiness component to a developer is determined. Business componentsthat are within the business context selected by the developer may beavailable for use in creating a business object and referred to as“in-context.” Business components that are within an ancestor businesscontext of a business component selected by the developer may beavailable for use in creating a business object and referred to as“derived-context.” Business components that are within an ancestorbusiness context of a business component selected by the developer andare also within the business context selected by the developer may beavailable and referred to as “in-context with override.” Businesscomponents that are not within an ancestor business context of abusiness component selected by the developer and are not within thebusiness context selected by the developer may not be available for useby the developer in creating the business object and may be referred toas “out-of-context.” If a developer selects a different businesscontext, which business components are classified as in-context,derived-context, in-context with override, and out-of-context maychange. By selecting a different business context, the developer may beaccessing business components that are not typically used within thedeveloper's enterprise's business and may result in the businesscomponent behaving differently or having properties other than expectedby the developer and/or applications with which the business object willbe used.

Based on whether a business component is classified as in-context,derived-context, in-context with override, or out-of-context, how thebusiness component is presented to the developer may vary. The developermay be presented with a graphical user interface that allows forselection of business components for use in creating a business object.For each listed business component, an indication may be present thatdenotes whether the business component is in-context, derived-context,in-context with override, or out-of-context. A business component maynot be permitted to be part of multiple of these categoriessimultaneously for a particular business context. The indication foreach business component may be a non-textual graphical indication, suchas an icon (or lack of icon) that is displayed to the developer asassociated with the business component.

Such graphical distinctions between business components that arepresented to the developer may allow the developer to quickly and easilydistinguish between business components that are available and notavailable for use in creating (and/or modifying business objects).Further, the developer may be easily able to distinguish which businesscomponents are from within the particular business context selected bythe developer, from within an ancestor business context, or are fromwithin the particular business context selected by the developer anddiffers from a same-named business component that is within an ancestorbusiness context.

FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of a system 100 for organizing businesscomponents for use in creating a business object. System 100 may includeuser input module 110, component determination engine 120, businesscontext/business component relationship database 130, business contexthierarchy database 135, indication assignment engine 140, displaypreference database 150, graphical user interface module 160, andbusiness object generator 170. System 100 is depicted as a block-diagramof modules. It should be understood that such modules may be dividedinto additional modules or the functionality of modules may be combinedinto fewer modules. Modules may be implemented using computerizedhardware, software, firmware, or some combination thereof. Variousmodules and/or functions of modules may be performed using a computersystem, such as computer system 800 of FIG. 8.

User input module 110 may be configured to receive input from adeveloper. A developer may refer to a user that is using system 100 tointeract with business components. A developer may be using the businesscomponents to create or modify a business object for an enterprise. Userinput module 110 may be used by the developer to select a particularbusiness context. The selected business context may be provided tocomponent determination engine 120 by user input module 110. User inputmodule 110 may receive input from a developer using various interfaces,such as a mouse, keyboard, touchscreen, gesture, etc. Further, it shouldbe understood that system 100 may be used to interact with a remotedeveloper. As such, user input module 110 may be configured to receiveinput from a developer using a computerized device from a remotelocation, such as across a network.

Component determination engine 120 may receive an indication of theselected business context from user input module 110. Based on theselected business context, component determination engine 120 maydetermine which business components are in-context, out-of-context, in aderived-context, and/or in-context with override. In order to performthis determination, a database that relates business components tobusiness contexts may be accessed. Additionally, a database that definesthe relationship between various business contexts may be accessed.

Business context/business component relationship database 130 may bestored using a computer-readable storage medium. Businesscontext/business component relationship database 130 may serve toidentify which business components are members of which businesscontexts. As an example, Table 1 lists five possible business componentsand indicates the business context with which each business component isassociated.

TABLE 1 Business Component Business Context Address Core Date Core ClaimNumber Insurance Data Rate Communications Part No. Communications

Based on the indicated business context in business context/businesscomponent relationship database 130, component determination engine 120may determine which business components are in-context andout-of-context of the business context selected by the developer.

Business contexts may be related in a hierarchal structure, as definedin relation to FIG. 2. If a business component is not present in aparticular business context, the business component may still beaccessible while the current business context is selected via anancestor business context. Similarly, a business component may bepresent in both a selected business context and an ancestor businesscontext. In order to determine the hierarchy of various businesscontexts, business context hierarchy database 135 may be accessed bycomponent determination engine 120. Business context hierarchy database135 may be stored using a computer-readable storage medium. Businesscontext hierarchy database 135 may define the relationships of variousbusiness contexts. Business contexts may be ancestors or siblings ofother business contexts. As a simple example referring to Table 1, ifthe “core” business context is an ancestor of the “insurance” businesscontext and the developer selects the insurance business context, thedeveloper may have access to the business components associated with thebusiness contexts of insurance and core. It should be understood thatbusiness context hierarchy database 135 and business context/businesscomponent relationship database 130 may be combined into a singledatabase that defines the relationship among business contexts andbetween business contexts and business components.

Based on whether a business component is determined to be in-context,out-of-context, in-context with override, or derived-context, indicationassignment engine 140 may assign an indicator to each businesscomponent. Each context category may have a different type indicator. Insome embodiments, a different non-textual graphical element (e.g., anicon) is used to denote each type of business context relationship. Inother embodiments, different forms of indication may be used, such ashighlighting, colors, bolding, text size, text location, separate lists,etc. To determine which and how the indications are to be presented tothe developer, indication assignment engine 140 may consult displaypreference database 150. User preferences, such as the colors or iconsassigned to each category of business context/business componentrelationship may be defined within display preference database 150.

Graphical user interface module 160 may be used to present the businesscomponents along with the indicators representative of the businesscontext/business component relationship that exists for each businesscomponent. From graphical user interface module 160 in conjunction withuser input module 110, a developer may be permitted to select orotherwise use business components for use in creating a business object.If a business component is out-of-context, and thus possibly notavailable for use by the developer, the business component may not bepermitted to be selected via graphical user interface module 160. Such abusiness component may or may not be displayed by graphical userinterface module 160. If a developer selects a different businesscontext, the indicators displayed with some or all business componentsmay change.

The developer may select a business component for use in creating abusiness object using graphical user interface module 160 and user inputmodule 110. The business component may be manipulated or otherwise usedby the developer in conjunction with business object generator 170.Business object generator 170 may create business objects that serve ashow data is exchanged between enterprise applications. For instance datamay be output or input to an application in the form of a businessobject.

FIG. 2 illustrates a graphical representation of an embodiment of ahierarchy 200 of business components according to business context. Sucha hierarchal arrangement may be stored as part of business contexthierarchy database 135 of FIG. 1 or in some other storage arrangementthat may be used to determine a hierarchal structure of businesscontexts and the associated business components. Referring to thegraphical representation of hierarchy 200, a simplified hierarchalstructure of business contexts and business components associated withthe business contexts is illustrated. In graphical representation ofhierarchy 200, four business contexts are illustrated. These businesscontexts include industry areas (insurance, communications) andgeographical areas (Europe). These are meant to be examples only, otherbusiness contexts may also exist.

In the graphical representation of hierarchy 200, business context 210-1is the direct ancestor of business context 210-2 and business context210-3. Business context 210-1 is also an ancestor of business context210-4. For example, a business component for “credit card number” may beavailable on all business contexts that have business context 210-1 asan ancestor.

If business context 210-2 is selected by a developer, each componentwithin business context 210-2 may be available as “in-context.”Therefore, as an example, business component 270 may be available to thedeveloper. Business components that are members of an ancestor businesscontext of business context 210-1 may be available to the developer as“derived-context” business components. For example, business component240 is not present in business context 210-2, but is present in businesscontext 210-1, and is thus available when business context 210-2 hasbeen selected by the developer. Business component 280 is not inbusiness context 210-2, nor is it present in any ancestor businesscontext of business context 210-2 (in this example, business context210-1). Therefore, business component 280 may be indicated as“out-of-context” if the developer has selected business context 210-2.Business component 220 has two versions present: business component220-1 present in business context 210-1 and business component 220-2present in business context 210-2. As such, a version of businesscomponent 220 is present in both business context 210-2 and businesscontext 210-1.

If the developer has selected business context 210-2, business component220-2 may be available as “in-context with override,” which indicatesthat a different version of the business component is present within anancestor business context of business context 210-2. However, ifbusiness context 210-3 was selected by the user, business component220-3 would be available as “in-context with override.” If the developerhas selected business context 210-2, business component 250-1 may beavailable as in the “derived context,” while if the developer hasselected business context 210-3, business component 250-2 may beavailable as “in-context with override.”

Multiple levels of the hierarchy may be present. Business context 210-4is a business context that has business context 210-2 and businesscontext 210-1 as its ancestors. Multiple business components (280, 290)may be available as in-context and may not be available in at least someother business contexts. Business component 280 is available asin-context within both business context 210-3 and business context210-4. Business component 260 may be available as “derived context” tobusiness context 210-4 because business component 260 is present in anancestor business context (210-1) but not within business context 210-4.Business component 220-4 of business context 210-4 may be availablewithin business context 210-4 as “in-context with override.”

It should be understood that business components 220-290 and businesscontexts 210 are provided as examples only to illustrates the hierarchalstructure of business components and how each category of businesscomponent/business context can be determined. Embodiments of hierarchalstructures of business components and business contexts may besignificantly more complex is other embodiments.

FIG. 3 illustrates an embodiment of a graphical user interface 300organizing business components for use in creating a business object.Graphical user interface 300 may be presented to the developer viagraphical user interface module 160 of FIG. 1 or some other systemconfigured to present a graphical user interface to a developer. Ingraphical user interface 300, a developer has selected a businesscontext 310 of “Communications.” Business components may be presentedvia business component display 305 to the developer. When the developerhas selected a business context 310, business component display 305 maybe updated to provide indications with each business component thatindicates whether the business component is in-context orout-of-context. More specifically, business component display 305 may beupdated to provide indications with each business component thatindicates whether the business component is 1) in-context, 2) in aderived-context, 3) in-context with override; or 4) out-of-context. Insome embodiments, non-textual graphical elements, such as non-textualgraphical element 330, may be used to indicate the association between abusiness component and the selected business context. In the illustratedembodiment, an empty circle refers to a business component being“in-context” with the selected business context. Business component 320,which is an “ItemReference” business component, is in-context with thecommunications business context, as selected. Additional informationabout business components may be presented within business componentdisplay 305, such as: types of business components, a maximum allowablecardinality, and a description of the business component. Other forms ofdata may also be presented via business component display 305 to thedeveloper.

FIG. 4 illustrates another embodiment of a graphical user interface 400organizing business components for use in creating a business objectwith a different business context selected than in graphical userinterface 300 of FIG. 3. In graphical user interface 400, a developerhas selected a business context 310 of “communications/customer.” The“communications/customer” business context may have the communicationsbusiness context as an ancestor. When the developer has selected“communications/customer” as the business context 310, businesscomponent display 305 may be updated to provide indications with eachbusiness component that indicates whether the business component isin-context or out-of-context. More specifically, business componentdisplay 305 may be updated to provide indications with each businesscomponent that indicates whether the business component is 1)in-context, 2) in a derived-context, 3) in-context with override; or 4)out-of-context.

In the illustrated embodiment of graphical user interface 400, a circlewith a plus sign refers to a business component being in a“derived-context” with the selected business context. Business component320, which is the “ItemReference” business component as selected ingraphical user interface 300 of FIG. 3, is in a derived context because“ItemReference” is a member of an ancestor business context of the“communications/customer” business context.

FIG. 5 illustrates another embodiment of a graphical user interface 500organizing business components for use in creating a business objectwith a different business context selected than in graphical userinterface 300 of FIG. 3 or graphical user interface 400 of FIG. 4. Ingraphical user interface 500, a developer has selected a businesscontext 310 of “core.” The “core” business context may not have anotherbusiness context as an ancestor. When the developer has selected “core”as the business context 310, business component display 305 may beupdated to provide indications with each business component thatindicates whether the business component is in-context orout-of-context. More specifically, business component display 305 may beupdated to provide indications with each business component thatindicates whether the business component is 1) in-context, 2) in aderived-context, 3) in-context with override; or 4) out-of-context.

In the illustrated embodiment of graphical user interface 500, a circlewith a minus sign refers to a business component being “out-of-context”with the selected business context. Business component 320, which is the“ItemReference” business component as selected in graphical userinterface 300 of FIG. 3 and graphical user interface 400 of FIG. 4, isout-of-context because “ItemReference” is neither a member of the corebusiness context nor a member of an ancestor business context of the“core” business context (the core business context may have noancestors).

While only three non-textual graphical elements have been described, aseparate non-textual graphical element may be present for “in-contextwith override” business components. Alternatively, such businesscomponents may use the same non-textual graphical element as“in-context” business components. Further, it should be understood thatthe graphical user interfaces of FIGS. 3 through 5 are for examplepurposes only. In other embodiments, various components may be presentedin a different format. Further, other embodiments may present more orless information simultaneously.

FIG. 6 illustrates an embodiment of a method 600 for organizing businesscomponents for use in creating a business object. Method 600 may beperformed using system 100 of FIG. 1 or some other system configured fororganizing business components for use in creating a business object.Method 600 may involve the use of a hierarchal structure of businesscontexts, such as that illustrated in relation to hierarchy 200 of FIG.2. Further, method 600 may involve use of graphical user interfaces thesame or similar to those illustrated and described in relation to FIGS.3 through 5. Method 600 may be performed using a computer system, suchas computer system 800 of FIG. 8. Means for performing each step ofmethod 600 include computerized devices.

At step 610, within an interface configured to allow the creation ofbusiness objects, a selection of a business context may be received. theselection of the business context may be received from a developer. Thebusiness context selected may indicate a context of an enterprise onwhose behalf a developer is creating (or modifying) a business object.Examples of business contexts includes types of industry andgeographical/geopolitical regions. The developer may select a businesscontext from a predefined list of business contexts. In someembodiments, the selection may occur via a user input module, such asuser input module 110 of FIG. 1. The selection may be made from adrop-down menu, such as illustrated in graphical user interface 300 ofFIG. 3.

At step 620, a determination may be made as to whether each businesscomponent of a group of business components is within or outside of thebusiness context selected at step 610. Referring to system 100 of FIG.1, component determination engine 120 may access businesscontext/business component relationship database 130 to determine arelationship between the selected business context and each businesscomponent. Further, component determination engine 120 may accessbusiness context hierarchy database 135 to determine the relationshipbetween the selected business context and other business contexts.

At step 630, an indicator may be assigned to each business component.Each indication may denote whether a particular business component isin-context or out-of-context. If “in-context,” the business componentmay be available for use in creating or modifying a business object bythe developer. If “out-of-context,” the business component may not beavailable for use in creating or modifying a business object by thedeveloper. In some embodiments, it may be possible for the developer toperform steps to move or copy a business component into a differentbusiness context. Each indication may be non-textual and may begraphical. For instance, an icon may be displayed with each businesscomponent to denote whether the business component is in- orout-of-context based on the business context selection of step 610.

At step 640, each business component of the group of business componentsmay be presented with its associated indicator as part of a graphicaluser interface. The indicators may serve to inform the developer ofwhether the corresponding business component is in- or out-of-context.FIGS. 3-5 illustrate examples of indicators being displayed withbusiness components to denote whether the business component is withinthe context or outside the context of the selected business context.

FIG. 7 illustrates another embodiment of a method for organizingbusiness components for use in creating a business object. Method 700may be performed using system 100 of FIG. 1 or some other systemconfigured for organizing business components for use in creating abusiness object. Method 700 may involve the use of a hierarchalstructure of business contexts, such as that illustrated in relation tohierarchy 200 of FIG. 2. Further, method 700 may involve use ofgraphical user interfaces the same or similar to those illustrated anddescribed in relation to FIGS. 3 through 5. Method 700 may be performedusing a computer system, such as computer system 800 of FIG. 8. Meansfor performing each step of method 700 include computerized devices.Method 700 may represent a more detailed embodiment of method 600 ofFIG. 6.

At step 705, a graphical user interface may be presented that allows forselection of one or more business components for use in creating abusiness object. Each business component may be a data element that hasa type of data and/or a category of data. For example, a data elementmay have a category of a credit card number and a data type number.

At step 710, within the interface configured to allow the creation ofbusiness objects, a selection of a business context may be received. Theselection of the business context may be received from a developer. Thebusiness context selected may indicate a context of an enterprise onwhose behalf a developer is creating (or modifying) a business object.Examples of business contexts include types of industry andgeographical/geopolitical regions. The developer may select a businesscontext from a predefined list of business contexts. In someembodiments, the selection may occur via a user input module, such asuser input module 110 of FIG. 1. The selection may be made from adrop-down menu, such as illustrated in graphical user interface 300 ofFIG. 3.

At step 720, a determination may be made as to whether each businesscomponent of a group of business components is within or outside of thebusiness context selected at step 710. More specifically, adetermination may be made as to whether each business component is:in-context (exists in the current business context and not in anancestor business context of the business context); in-context withoverride (exists in the current business context and in another form inan ancestor business context of the business context); derived context(does not exist in the current business context but does in an ancestorbusiness context of the business context); or out-of-context (does notexist in the current business context and does not exist in an ancestorbusiness context of the business context). If a business component isdetermined to be within the selected business context, it may bedetermined if the business component has an ancestor business componentin an ancestor business context of the selected business context (whichwould make the business component in-context with override). If abusiness component is determined to not be within the selected businesscontext, it may be determined if the business component has an ancestorbusiness component in an ancestor business context of the selectedbusiness context (which would make the business component of the derivedcontext). In some embodiments, fewer or greater types of businesscomponent and business context relationships may exist. Referring tosystem 100 of FIG. 1, component determination engine 120 may accessbusiness context/business component relationship database 130 todetermine a relationship between the selected business context and eachbusiness component. Further, component determination engine 120 mayaccess business context hierarchy database 135 to determine therelationship between the selected business context and other businesscontexts.

At step 730, an indicator may be assigned to each business component.Each indication may denote whether a particular business component isin-context, in-context with override, derived context, orout-of-context. If “in-context,” “in-context with override,” or“derived-context” the business component may be available for use increating or modifying a business object by the developer. If“out-of-context,” the business component may not be available for use increating or modifying a business object by the developer. In someembodiments, it may be possible for the developer to perform steps tomove or copy a business component into a different business context.Each indication may be non-textual and may be graphical. For instance,an icon may be displayed with each business component to denote whetherthe business component is in- or out-of-context based on the businesscontext selection of step 610. In some embodiments: a circle denotes“in-context” and “in-context with override,” a circle with a plus signdenotes “derived context,” and a circle with a minus sign denotes“out-of-context.”

At step 740, each business component of the group of business componentsmay be presented with its associated indicator as part of a graphicaluser interface. The indicators may serve to inform the developer ofwhether the corresponding business component is in-context, in-contextwith override, derived context, or out-of-context. FIGS. 3-5 illustrateexamples of indicators being displayed with business components todenote whether the business component is within the context or outsidethe context of the selected business context.

At step 750, a business component may be selected and may be used increating or modifying a business object. The business component selectedat step 750 may be a business component that is available for use increating a business object, such as a business component that isin-context, in-context with override, or derived-context.

At step 760, the developer may select a different business context. Whena different business context is selected, steps 720 through 740 may beperformed again, which may result in at least some of the businesscomponents beings associated with different indications. For example, abusiness component that was previously out-of-context may now bein-context following selection of the second business context.

FIG. 8 illustrates an embodiment of a computer system. A computer systemas illustrated in FIG. 8 may incorporate part of the previouslydescribed computerized devices. For example, computer system 800 canrepresent at least some of the components of system 100 discussed inthis application. FIG. 8 provides a schematic illustration of oneembodiment of a computer system 800 that can perform the methodsprovided by various embodiments. It should be noted that FIG. 8 is meantonly to provide a generalized illustration of various components, any orall of which may be utilized as appropriate. FIG. 8, therefore, broadlyillustrates how individual system elements may be implemented in arelatively separated or relatively more integrated manner.

The computer system 800 is shown comprising hardware elements that canbe electrically coupled via a bus 805 (or may otherwise be incommunication, as appropriate). The hardware elements may include one ormore processors 810, including without limitation one or moregeneral-purpose processors and/or one or more special-purpose processors(such as digital signal processing chips, graphics accelerationprocessors, and/or the like); one or more input devices 815, which caninclude without limitation a mouse, a keyboard, and/or the like; and oneor more output devices 820, which can include without limitation adisplay device, a printer, and/or the like.

The computer system 800 may further include (and/or be in communicationwith) one or more non-transitory storage devices 825, which cancomprise, without limitation, local and/or network accessible storage,and/or can include, without limitation, a disk drive, a drive array, anoptical storage device, a solid-state storage device, such as a randomaccess memory (“RAM”), and/or a read-only memory (“ROM”), which can beprogrammable, flash-updateable and/or the like. Such storage devices maybe configured to implement any appropriate data stores, includingwithout limitation, various file systems, database structures, and/orthe like.

The computer system 800 might also include a communications subsystem830, which can include without limitation a modem, a network card(wireless or wired), an infrared communication device, a wirelesscommunication device, and/or a chipset (such as a Bluetooth™ device, an802.11 device, a WiFi device, a WiMax device, cellular communicationfacilities, etc.), and/or the like. The communications subsystem 830 maypermit data to be exchanged with a network (such as the networkdescribed below, to name one example), other computer systems, and/orany other devices described herein. In many embodiments, the computersystem 800 will further comprise a working memory 835, which can includea RAM or ROM device, as described above.

The computer system 800 also can comprise software elements, shown asbeing currently located within the working memory 835, including anoperating system 840, device drivers, executable libraries, and/or othercode, such as one or more application programs 845, which may comprisecomputer programs provided by various embodiments, and/or may bedesigned to implement methods, and/or configure systems, provided byother embodiments, as described herein. Merely by way of example, one ormore procedures described with respect to the method(s) discussed abovemight be implemented as code and/or instructions executable by acomputer (and/or a processor within a computer); in an aspect, then,such code and/or instructions can be used to configure and/or adapt ageneral purpose computer (or other device) to perform one or moreoperations in accordance with the described methods.

A set of these instructions and/or code might be stored on anon-transitory computer-readable storage medium, such as thenon-transitory storage device(s) 825 described above. In some cases, thestorage medium might be incorporated within a computer system, such ascomputer system 800. In other embodiments, the storage medium might beseparate from a computer system (e.g., a removable medium, such as acompact disc), and/or provided in an installation package, such that thestorage medium can be used to program, configure, and/or adapt a generalpurpose computer with the instructions/code stored thereon. Theseinstructions might take the form of executable code, which is executableby the computer system 800 and/or might take the form of source and/orinstallable code, which, upon compilation and/or installation on thecomputer system 800 (e.g., using any of a variety of generally availablecompilers, installation programs, compression/decompression utilities,etc.), which then takes the form of executable code.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that substantialvariations may be made in accordance with specific requirements. Forexample, customized hardware might also be used, and/or particularelements might be implemented in hardware, software (including portablesoftware, such as applets, etc.), or both. Further, connection to othercomputing devices such as network input/output devices may be employed.

As mentioned above, in one aspect, some embodiments may employ acomputer system (such as the computer system 800) to perform methods inaccordance with various embodiments of the invention. According to a setof embodiments, some or all of the procedures of such methods areperformed by the computer system 800 in response to processor 810executing one or more sequences of one or more instructions (which mightbe incorporated into the operating system 840 and/or other code, such asan application program 845) contained in the working memory 835. Suchinstructions may be read into the working memory 835 from anothercomputer-readable medium, such as one or more of the non-transitorystorage device(s) 825. Merely by way of example, execution of thesequences of instructions contained in the working memory 835 mightcause the processor(s) 810 to perform one or more procedures of themethods described herein.

The terms “machine-readable medium” and “computer-readable medium,” asused herein, refer to any medium that participates in providing datathat causes a machine to operate in a specific fashion. In an embodimentimplemented using the computer system 800, various computer-readablemedia might be involved in providing instructions/code to processor(s)810 for execution and/or might be used to store and/or carry suchinstructions/code. In many implementations, a computer-readable mediumis a physical and/or tangible storage medium. Such a medium may take theform of a non-volatile media or volatile media. Non-volatile mediainclude, for example, optical and/or magnetic disks, such as thenon-transitory storage device(s) 825. Volatile media include, withoutlimitation, dynamic memory, such as the working memory 835.

Common forms of physical and/or tangible computer-readable mediainclude, for example, a floppy disk, a flexible disk, hard disk,magnetic tape, or any other magnetic medium, a CD-ROM, any other opticalmedium, punchcards, papertape, any other physical medium with patternsof holes, a RAM, a PROM, EPROM, a FLASH-EPROM, any other memory chip orcartridge, or any other medium from which a computer can readinstructions and/or code.

Various forms of computer-readable media may be involved in carrying oneor more sequences of one or more instructions to the processor(s) 810for execution. Merely by way of example, the instructions may initiallybe carried on a magnetic disk and/or optical disc of a remote computer.A remote computer might load the instructions into its dynamic memoryand send the instructions as signals over a transmission medium to bereceived and/or executed by the computer system 800.

The communications subsystem 830 (and/or components thereof) generallywill receive signals, and the bus 805 then might carry the signals(and/or the data, instructions, etc. carried by the signals) to theworking memory 835, from which the processor(s) 810 retrieves andexecutes the instructions. The instructions received by the workingmemory 835 may optionally be stored on a non-transitory storage device825 either before or after execution by the processor(s) 810.

The methods, systems, and devices discussed above are examples. Variousconfigurations may omit, substitute, or add various procedures orcomponents as appropriate. For instance, in alternative configurations,the methods may be performed in an order different from that described,and/or various stages may be added, omitted, and/or combined. Also,features described with respect to certain configurations may becombined in various other configurations. Different aspects and elementsof the configurations may be combined in a similar manner. Also,technology evolves and, thus, many of the elements are examples and donot limit the scope of the disclosure or claims.

Specific details are given in the description to provide a thoroughunderstanding of example configurations (including implementations).However, configurations may be practiced without these specific details.For example, well-known circuits, processes, algorithms, structures, andtechniques have been shown without unnecessary detail in order to avoidobscuring the configurations. This description provides exampleconfigurations only, and does not limit the scope, applicability, orconfigurations of the claims. Rather, the preceding description of theconfigurations will provide those skilled in the art with an enablingdescription for implementing described techniques. Various changes maybe made in the function and arrangement of elements without departingfrom the spirit or scope of the disclosure.

Also, configurations may be described as a process which is depicted asa flow diagram or block diagram. Although each may describe theoperations as a sequential process, many of the operations can beperformed in parallel or concurrently. In addition, the order of theoperations may be rearranged. A process may have additional steps notincluded in the figure. Furthermore, examples of the methods may beimplemented by hardware, software, firmware, middleware, microcode,hardware description languages, or any combination thereof. Whenimplemented in software, firmware, middleware, or microcode, the programcode or code segments to perform the necessary tasks may be stored in anon-transitory computer-readable medium such as a storage medium.Processors may perform the described tasks.

Several example configurations, various modifications, alternativeconstructions, and equivalents having been described may be used withoutdeparting from the spirit of the disclosure. For example, the aboveelements may be components of a larger system, wherein other rules maytake precedence over or otherwise modify the application of theinvention. Also, a number of steps may be undertaken before, during, orafter the above elements are considered. Accordingly, the scope of theclaims is not bound by the above description.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for organizing business components foruse in creating a business object, the method comprising: presenting, bya computer system, a graphical user interface of a first application,the graphical user interface allowing selection of one or more businesscomponents from a plurality of business components for creating abusiness object; receiving, by the computer system, a selection of abusiness context from the graphical user interface, the business contextbeing selected from a plurality of business contexts; after receivingthe selection of the business context, determining, by the computersystem, for each business component of the plurality of businesscomponents, whether the business component is within the receivedbusiness context or outside of the received business context by queryinga database containing relationships of business components to businesscontexts, wherein: each business component of the plurality of businesscomponents comprises: a category, a data type, and an association with abusiness context from the plurality of business contexts; assigning, bythe computer system, a first indicator to each business component of theplurality of business components that was determined to be within thereceived business context, the first indicator identifying the businesscomponent as being within the received business context; assigning, bythe computer system, a second indicator to each business component ofthe plurality of business components that was determined to be outsideof the received business context, the second indicator identifying thebusiness component as being outside of the received business context;presenting, by the computer system in the graphical user interface, eachbusiness component of the plurality of business components with a visualindication of the business component's assigned indicator, wherein atleast business components that are assigned the first indicator areavailable for use in creating the business object; receiving, by thecomputer system, a selection of one or more business components from thegraphical user interface, each of the one or more business components inthe selection being within the received business context; generating, bythe computer system, the business object using the one or more businesscomponents in the selection of the one or more business components; andoutputting, by the computer system, the business object for use by asecond application.
 2. The method for organizing business components foruse in creating the business object of claim 1, wherein the businesscontext indicates a specific industry or geographic location.
 3. Themethod for organizing business components for use in creating thebusiness object of claim 2, wherein the plurality of business contextsis organized as a hierarchy, such that at least one business context hasat least one child business context.
 4. The method for organizingbusiness components for use in creating the business object of claim 3,further comprising: for each business component of the plurality ofbusiness components that is determined to be within the receivedbusiness context, determining if the business component has an ancestorbusiness component in the hierarchy; and for each business component ofthe plurality of business components that is determined to be outsidethe received business context, determining if the business component hasan ancestor business component in the hierarchy.
 5. The method fororganizing business components for use in creating the business objectof claim 4, wherein assigning the first indicator to each businesscomponent of the plurality of business components that was determined tobe within the received business context comprises: assigning, by thecomputer system, a first type of first indicator to business componentsof the plurality of business components that are within the receivedbusiness context and do not have an ancestor business component in thehierarchy; and assigning, by the computer system, a second type of firstindicator to business components of the plurality of business componentsthat are within the received business context and have an ancestorbusiness component in the hierarchy; and wherein assigning the secondindicator to each business component of the plurality of businesscomponents that was determined to be outside the received businesscontext comprises: assigning, by the computer system, a first type ofsecond indicator to business components of the plurality of businesscomponents that are outside the received business context and do nothave an ancestor business component in the hierarchy; and assigning, bythe computer system, a second type of second indicator to businesscomponents of the plurality of business components that are outside thereceived business context and have an ancestor business component in thehierarchy.
 6. The method for organizing business components for use increating the business object of claim 5, wherein presenting eachbusiness component of the plurality of business components with thebusiness component's assigned indicator comprises presenting eachbusiness component of the plurality of business components with eitherthe assigned first type of first indicator, the assigned second type offirst indicator, the assigned first type of second indicator, or theassigned second type of second indicator.
 7. The method for organizingbusiness components for use in creating the business object of claim 1,further comprising: after presenting each business component of theplurality of business components with the business component's assignedindicator, receiving, by the computer system, a second selection of asecond business context from the plurality of business contexts; afterreceiving the second selection of the business context, determining, bythe computer system, for each business component of the plurality ofbusiness components, whether the business component is within the secondreceived business context or outside of the second received businesscontext; assigning, by the computer system, the first indicator to eachbusiness component of the plurality of business components that wasdetermined to be within the second received business context, the firstindicator being modified to identify the business component as beingwithin the second received business context; assigning, by the computersystem, the second indicator to each business component of the pluralityof business components that was determined to be outside of the secondreceived business context, the second indicator being modified toidentify the business component as being outside of the second receivedbusiness context; and presenting, by the computer system in thegraphical user interface, each business component of the plurality ofbusiness components with a visual indication of the business component'sassigned modified indicator.
 8. The method for organizing businesscomponents for use in creating the business object of claim 1, themethod further comprising: receiving, by the computer system, aselection of a business component that is within the received businesscontext for use in creating the business object.
 9. The method fororganizing business components for use in creating the business objectof claim 1, wherein each first and second indicator is a graphicalelement displayed within the graphical user interface.
 10. A computerprogram product residing on a non-transitory processor-readable mediumfor organizing business components for use in creating a businessobject, the computer program product comprising processor-readableinstructions configured to cause a computer system to: present agraphical user interface of a first application, the graphical userinterface allowing selection of one or more business components from aplurality of business components for creating a business object; receivea selection of a business context from the graphical user interface, thebusiness context being selected from a plurality of business contexts;after receiving the selection of the business context, determine, foreach business component of the plurality of business components, whetherthe business component is within the received business context oroutside of the received business context by querying a databasecontaining relationships of business components to business contexts,wherein: each business component of the plurality of business componentscomprises: a category, a data type, and an association with a businesscontext from the plurality of business contexts; assign a firstindicator to each business component of the plurality of businesscomponents that was determined to be within the received businesscontext, the first indicator identifying the business component as beingwithin the received business context; assign a second indicator to eachbusiness component of the plurality of business components that wasdetermined to be outside the received business context, the secondindicator identifying the business component as being outside of thereceived business context; cause each business component of theplurality of business components and a visual indication of the businesscomponent's assigned indicator to be presented in the graphical userinterface, wherein at least business components that are assigned thefirst indicator are available for use in creating the business object;receive a selection of one or more business components from thegraphical user interface, each of the one or more business components inthe selection being within the received business context; generating thebusiness object using the one or more business components in theselection of the one or more business components; and output thebusiness object for use by a second application.
 11. The computerprogram product for organizing business components for use in creatingthe business object of claim 10, wherein the business context indicatesa specific industry or geographic location.
 12. The computer programproduct for organizing business components for use in creating thebusiness object of claim 11, wherein the plurality of business contextsis organized as a hierarchy, such that at least one business context hasat least one child business context.
 13. The computer program productfor organizing business components for use in creating the businessobject of claim 12, wherein the computer program product furthercomprises processor-readable instructions configured to cause thecomputer system to: for each business component of the plurality ofbusiness components that is determined to be within the receivedbusiness context, determine if the business component has an ancestorbusiness component in the hierarchy; and for each business component ofthe plurality of business components that is determined to be outsidethe received business context, determine if the business component hasan ancestor business component in the hierarchy.
 14. The computerprogram product for organizing business components for use in creatingthe business object of claim 13, wherein the processor-readableinstructions configured to cause the computer system to assign the firstindicator to each business component of the plurality of businesscomponents that was determined to be within the received businesscontext comprises processor-readable instructions configured to causethe computer system to: assign a first type of first indicator tobusiness components of the plurality of business components that arewithin the received business context and do not have an ancestorbusiness component in the hierarchy; and assign a second type of firstindicator to business components of the plurality of business componentsthat are within the received business context and have an ancestorbusiness component in the hierarchy; and wherein the processor-readableinstructions configured to cause the computer system to assign thesecond indicator to each business component of the plurality of businesscomponents that was determined to be outside the received businesscontext comprises processor-readable instructions configured to causethe computer system to: assign a first type of second indicator tobusiness components of the plurality of business components that areoutside the received business context and do not have an ancestorbusiness component in the hierarchy; and assign a second type of secondindicator to business components of the plurality of business componentsthat are outside the received business context and have an ancestorbusiness component in the hierarchy.
 15. The computer program productfor organizing business components for use in creating the businessobject of claim 14, wherein the processor-readable instructionsconfigured to cause the computer system to present each businesscomponent of the plurality of business components with the businesscomponent's assigned indicator comprises processor-readable instructionsconfigured to cause the computer system to: cause each businesscomponent of the plurality of business components to be presented witheither the assigned first type of first indicator, the assigned secondtype of first indicator, the assigned first type of second indicator, orthe assigned second type of second indicator.
 16. The computer programproduct for organizing business components for use in creating thebusiness object of claim 10, wherein the computer program productfurther comprises processor-readable instructions configured to causethe computer system to: after causing each business component of theplurality of business components with the business component's assignedindicator to be presented, receive a second selection of a secondbusiness context from the plurality of business contexts; afterreceiving the second selection of the business context, determine foreach business component of the plurality of business components, whetherthe business component is within the second received business context oroutside of the second received business context; assign the firstindicator to each business component of the plurality of businesscomponents that was determined to be within the second received businesscontext, the first indicator being modified to identify the businesscomponent as being within the second received business context; assignthe second indicator to each business component of the plurality ofbusiness components that was determined to be outside of the secondreceived business context, the second indicator being modified toidentify the business component as being outside of the second receivedbusiness context; and cause each business component of the plurality ofbusiness components and a visual indication of the business component'sassigned modified indicator to be presented in the graphical userinterface.
 17. The computer program product for organizing businesscomponents for use in creating the business object of claim 10, whereinthe computer program product further comprises processor-readableinstructions configured to cause the computer system to: receive aselection of a business component that is within the received businesscontext for use in creating the business object.
 18. The computerprogram product for organizing business components for use in creatingthe business object of claim 10, wherein each first and second indicatoris a graphical element displayed within the graphical user interface.19. A system for organizing business components for use in creating abusiness object, the system comprising: a processor; and a memorycommunicatively coupled with and readable by the processor and havingstored therein processor-readable instructions which, when executed bythe processor, cause the processor to: present a graphical userinterface of a first application, the graphical user interface allowingselection of one or more business components from a plurality ofbusiness components for creating a business object; receive a selectionof a business context from the graphical user interface, the businesscontext being selected from a plurality of business contexts; afterreceiving the selection of the business context, determine, for eachbusiness component of a plurality of business components, whether thebusiness component is within the received business context or outside ofthe received business context by querying a database containingrelationships of business components to business contexts, wherein: eachbusiness component of the plurality of business components comprises: acategory, a data type, and an association with a business context fromthe plurality of business contexts; assign a first indicator to eachbusiness component of the plurality of business components that wasdetermined to be within the received business context, the firstindicator identifying the business component as being within thereceived business context; assign a second indicator to each businesscomponent of the plurality of business components that was determined tobe outside the received business context, the second indicatoridentifying the business component as being outside of the receivedbusiness context; cause each business component of the plurality ofbusiness components and a visual indication of the business component'sassigned indicator to be presented in the graphical user interface,wherein at least business components that are assigned the firstindicator are available for use in creating the business object; receivea selection of one or more business components from the graphical userinterface, each of the one or more business components in the selectionbeing within the received business context; generate the business objectusing the one or more business components in the selection of the one ormore business components; and output the business object for use by asecond application.
 20. The system for organizing business componentsfor use in creating the business object of claim 19, wherein theprocessor-readable instructions further comprise processor-readableinstructions configured to cause the processor to: after causing eachbusiness component of the plurality of business components with thebusiness component's assigned indicator to be presented, receive asecond selection of a second business context from the plurality ofbusiness contexts; after receiving the second selection of the businesscontext, determine for each business component of the plurality ofbusiness components, whether the business component is within the secondreceived business context or outside of the second received businesscontext; assign the first indicator to each business component of theplurality of business components that was determined to be within thesecond received business context, the first indicator being modified toidentify the business component as being within the second receivedbusiness context; assign the second indicator to each business componentof the plurality of business components that was determined to beoutside of the second received business context; and cause each businesscomponent of the plurality of business components and a visualindication of the business component's assigned modified indicator to bepresented in the graphical user interface.